First Timer's 70.3 recap for the Timberman Half Ironman

First Timer’s Timberman 70.3 race recap

Grab a cup of coffee or put aside a few minutes because this is going to take a while.

We had been staying at the Gunstock Mountain Campground for the past few days in our travel trailer. The mattresses that these Campers come with were NOT built for comfort.  Anyway, the day started even earlier than most training days. I got to admit, I enjoy those long training sessions.  So, the alarm was set for 4:41am but I didn’t need either of the two that I set.  I was wide awake by 3:00am.  I stayed in bed a while thinking about how today was going to go.  I knew what my goals where and how to accomplish this.  Hell, I’ve been training since last November when I registered for Timberman 70.3.   My goals for swim/bike/run where 40ish/3:45ish/2:20ish.  I was really hoping to finish in less than 7 hours.  More on that later, lets not get ahead of ourselves.  I got out of bed around 4:15am and started to get ready.  My transition bag was carefully packed the night before and I am certain that I hadn’t forgotten anything.

In my bag in addition to all my gear, I packed 3 packs of GU chomps, 2 GU’s, 2 bananas and 2 Power Bars.  This is the stuff I trained with so I was really confident that I would be ‘good to go’ for the race. 

Around 4:45am I had already had my coffee.  I grabbed the bagel I set out the night before, put some peanut butter on it, grabbed my gear bag and off I went to grab the shuttle at the top of Gunstock Mountain.    It is still dark out this time of year and I enjoyed the solitude of the walk.  For a minute I thought perhaps I’m heading out a bit too early but my doubts were quickly reversed as I saw car load after car load pouring into the lot.  It reminded me of the movie Field of Dreams; appropriately so.  I boarded the bus and the driver took a wrong turn into a parking lot.  OK, no big deal, she turned around and off we went. 

It was about a 15 minute bus ride to the transition area which this time was passed with some nervous conversation with a few athletes adjacent to me.  I couldn’t believe that this day had finally come.  Had I trained hard enough? Can I do this?  And I got this! NO matter what, I am going to finish, I don’t care if I have to crawl over that finish line!  It seemed like a healthy bit of doubt, and confidence. 

I arrived in transition a little after 5am and saw that my bike was on the rack the opposite way from which I put it on there.  I must have put it on backwards and the volunteers probably fixed it.  I got my transition area ready and headed out to watch the sun rise over Lake Winnipesauke.

  It was a perfect day for a race.  The air temperature was about 56 degrees and I was taking everything in.  I went back to transition and walked around a bit. I ate a banana and I walked to see if the Pro’s had arrived yet.  I saw the only pro I recognized as Andy Potts.  He was putting together his transition area.  He had an air of confidence about him.  He just looked relaxed and ready to go.

I milled about for a while then at around 6:20am I went back to transition to grab my wetsuit, cap and goggles.  I had my cell phone on me and got a text from my wife telling me that she would be there as soon as she could with our 2 rambunctious boys (ages 2 and 5).  I knew she wouldn’t be there for the start but that was not a big deal.  She was having her own race trying to get the boys ready.  Transition would close for all athletes at 6:45am and I didn’t want to push the time.  I put my phone on airplane mode and put it in my bag underneath my bike seat.  I always carry my phone with me; so I figured why change today?  I also took off my sweats, put them in my “morning bag” which was given to us at registration and brought it to the nice volunteers who placed it with all the others at the morning bag tent. 

I watched the Pro’s start at 7am and I was getting pretty amped up.  I knew my parents were coming up from the Worcester, MA area and I started looking for them.  Their day started about the same time as mine and they had a 2 ½ hour drive ahead of them.  My parents have always supported me in my endeavors and I already knew that they weren’t going to miss this.

My race started at 07:45am.  About 4 minutes before our start we made our way into the water to the first Buoys.    My goal for the swim was to be somewhere around 40 minutes.  I had just bought new Swim goggles and used them once.  I always have problems with sighting usually due to my goggles fogging up.  The horn went off and I started.  I swam well.  I was really happy with my breathing and sighting and my swim goggles were awesome.  I stayed a bit more reserved because I knew I was in for a long day.  I made the first turn. The water was 69 degrees which was perfect for this event.  The lake was also awesomely clear.  It is by far the best lake I have swam in.  I continued the swim and looked at my watch a few times.  I stuck to the buoys and didn’t really get pushed around much by the other athletes.   I got to the point where I could exit the water and looked at my watch.  I was at 46 ish minutes.   I said to myself; “Good job, nice swim, now keep it going”. I ran to the wetsuit strippers and they were awesome.  I also got to see my parents for the first time at this point and was so happy that they were at my race.

 

I went into transition (T1) and got ready for the bike.  I was feeling fantastic.  I knew everything was going as I had planned.

  I ran to bike out with a lot of energy and hopped on the bike. As I biked out of the shoot I got to see my wife and kids and it gave me an extra boost.  My kids looked so happy to see me.  

Now, Timberman’s bike course is really hard.  Right out of the gate you start climbing elevation.  The first climb lasts about a mile and I averaged about 12mph.  I was happy with the climb.  I continued on, and my plan was to eat my GU Chomps every 15 minutes.   I would alternate water and Gatorade.  Initially, I told myself to take it easy for the first 15 miles because these are the toughest miles on the course.  That being said I know I averaged better than 20mph which is by far the best I have ever biked.  Mile 14 was a long and big hill.   I saw several bikers actually get off of their bikes and walk up the hill.  Just after that  is the 1st aid station.  I skipped it as I had plenty of water.  I was still eating my chomps on schedule and was feeling really well.  I made it to mile 28 and the turnaround point.  This is the strongest and best I have felt all morning. 

I was on the return trip and I didn’t know it yet but my body was starting to break down.  I wasn’t following my nutrition plan.  I was so into the race I forgot to eat my bananas and Power bars.  This stuff is essential in this type of race. This is a rookie mistake which I will pay dearly for in the hours to come.  For now, my mind is realizing what my body is not telling me but I need more food. 

I start to fatigue around mile 33 ish.   I notice that all the people I was passing (I had to have passed at least three or four hundred riders)  where starting to leap in front of me.  Before the only athletes that were passing me were the strongest age groupers that started after me.   I continued on until I hit mile 50.  When I saw that mile marker sign I was instantly refreshed.  I pedaled hard the last 6 miles and back into the transition area.  My first 30 miles I averaged almost 20MPH and on the last 26 miles I only averaged 15MPH. 

I biked into transition and looked at my watch and knew I was having an awesome race.  I was in at 4:04 ish.  I racked my bike, changed my shoes, hit the head and off on the run I went.  I again skipped my power bars and banana’s that I had so carefully packed the night before.  My plan was to eat a GU then drink some water which I did at the 1st aid station (which is in the initial run shoot).  I looked at my watch and saw that I was at about an 11:18 mile. I wasn’t concerned yet.  I wanted to average a 9:30 mile.  This would put me at the finish line in about 2:20 and I would finish well under 6 ½ hours.  Seriously, this was awesome!

I was just shy of ¾ of a mile into my run when I realized my mistake.  I hadn’t taken in any banana’s or power bars.  I became EXTREMELY nauseous.  I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that I made such a dumb mistake.  NOW, I couldn’t eat ANYTHING.  The 1st aid station was ¾ of a mile into the run.  I just passed it and couldn’t take anything.  I got to see a High School Friend of mine (Lindsey Knox Lerit) who I visited the day before. Lindsey was just finishing her first lap.  If you know Lindsey you KNOW she is an infectiously positive person.  She came over to me, told me I looked great and that she would see me on the next lap.  I knew she was just trying to keep my mind in a good place because I looked and felt like hell.  I looked at my watch and realized I was “jogging” a plus 13 minute mile.  I went through the next aid station and tried to eat some pretzels, drink some water and took two sponges.  At these events they hand out water soaked sponges to help keep your cool.  The temperature was about 80 degrees and it was also pretty humid. Those sponges were like a little piece of heaven.

I knew at this point that it was now about SURVIVING the run.  I knew that my half marathon would be my worst time ever. My legs were starting to hurt.  I was not winded at all but my body wouldn’t do what I was asking it to do.   The volunteers were simply amazing.  They were full of energy and cheering us through.  The other athletes were also trying to cheer each other on. All the athletes I passed on the bike were now passing me like I wasn’t even moving.   I said just “keep going”. You need to make it to the turn around.   At the turn around I said make it to the second lap.  This was probably the most difficult part of my race.  These 3.3 ish miles back to the second turn around.  It was demoralizing knowing that other athletes were on their second lap and going much faster than I.  As I was finishing my first lap I saw Lindsey again. She gave me a high five and AGAIN told me “you look great” keep going.

I made the turn for the second lap and one of the volunteers told me “I'd say that you look good but I’d be lying”.  That made me chuckle.  We all have our names below our numbers on our BIB and I was receiving a lot of support from the onlookers, other racers and volunteers.  I saw a woman named Kelly.  I jogged and walked with her for a bit.  I wasn’t sure if my nausea was getting better or if I was just getting used to it.  I could see that the field of athletes on the run was much thinner than when I started.  I kept saying “just keep going” “you can do it”.  I wouldn’t allow any negative thought to enter my brain.  I remembered seeing a sign on the bike course that said “If your brain can believe it your body can achieve it”.   This would be my motto to the end of the race.  I made the turn and knew that I only had about a 5k left.  I ran with another age grouper that I had met in the starting area(I think his name was Kyung).  We chatted a bit as we walked.  Before I knew it I was at mile 12.  I felt a renewed energy because I knew I was almost done.  The battery on my Garmin finally died. I made the final left turn towards the finishers shoot.   I can’t tell you how happy I was!  I saw my Dad again and my mom (whom I didn’t see) was able to snap a picture with her smart phone. 

Just before I crossed the finish line I heard the announcers’ voice say my name. He said that I was completing my first half Ironman.  I raised up my arms as if I was Andy Potts who won the race.  The feeling of finishing this race was absolutely amazing!

I have learned a lot from this.  I am no longer a 70.3 virgin.  I will make smarter nutrition decisions in order to help me finish at a better time and so I don’t “bonk” on the run.  I have learned that you can finish anything with the proper mind set.  Although I set this goal it was never about me.  If it wasn’t for my friend Stu I would have never have had a bike to train on.  If it wasn’t for John at the Fairbanks Center and the WAM (Worcester Area Masters) coaches, I wouldn’t have had the skills to finish the swim.  Of course all the support from my friends and family is overwhelming.  Finally, we raised a lot of money for the Myocarditis Foundation in the memory of Devin Kravitz.  Thank you all for being a part of this journey.

BTW. My final time was 7 hours 23 minutes 12 seconds.

Nathan

Shint Splints, Vacation, and new Sneakers!

Hey guys! Since my last blog I had been taken it more or less easy.  I have been experiencing shin splints in my lower left leg and it has been pretty  painful.   Since my last writing I had run twice prior to going on vacation. The first run was 4.8 miles around the lake.  My splits were about average for me ,my first mile being the best of course and then I tapered off through the rest of my splits.  They looked like this;

Mile 1 – 9:04

Mile 2 – 10:37

Mile 3 – 11:35

Mile 4 – 12:23

I did finish 2 yards ahead of the last trek along the lake with an average pace of 11:18.  My second run was on July 6^th during my lunch break from a detail (extra paid road job).  My intention was to run a quick 3 miles but the shin splints were really painful so I only went 1.6 miles.  This was by far the worst workout I have had in the last 6 months!

Next, it was a good time to take a short hiatus from running this week.  My shin splints have been feeling a bit better and I took my family on a vacation to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  We had a great time.  Instead of running we got what I consider a lot of cross training in.  Here is what we did;

Monday (7/9) – We went to StoryLand which is an amusement park for kids.  My cross training on this day was dodging kids and parents, as well as getting miles of walking in over about 5 hours.

Tuesday (7/10) - We went to theLost River caves and gorges.  This time I had a back pack on with my youngest son in it who weighs about 25 lbs. (back pack weight NOT INCLUDED).  A ¾ mile hike up and down stairs and into caves is as much cross training as anything.

Wednesday (7/11) - We went for a about a 1.3 mile hike through some of the trails in Franconia Notch, NH.  Again I was wearing my son on my back and it was a great workout.

The rest of our trip was more relaxed and nothing I did could be construed or mis-construed as training!

I will be purchasing a new pair of shoes hopefully this week before my long run.  The shoes I currently own are Brooks and although they have been good to me they are old and have a lot of miles on them.    I am actually going to go to a ‘real’ running shoe store to purchase some new kicks!  You see, I have no idea what my gate is or whether I am an over pronator or an under pronator or any of the other myriad of factors that go into buying a new quality pair of sneakers.  When it comes to running shoes I am torn between New Balance, Reebok, Nike, addidas et al…  I am going to go see the Pro’s and let them help me out!

Feeling refreshed from vacation I decided to test out the shin(s).  On 7/14 I ran 3 miles which took forever.  I think I may have been a bit dehydrated as temps soared into the 90’s with what felt like 100% humidity.  It took me 39 minutes to complete the trek.  The next evening before work I ran again it only took 31 minutes for the same 3 miles.

As a novice runner I am finding it difficult not to over train.  I also have to take into account my different schedule compared to the 9 to 5ers (seethis blog for my career and schedule).  This all being said I have significantly improved from December (2011) when I decided to take on the challenge of running my first marathon.  I have taken on average minutes off my average pace! 

Until, next time, #keeptraining!

Getting stronger and stronger

As a novice runner I sometimes am afraid to challenge myself.  I get nervous about getting hurt or too tired.  Maybe it's just me protecting my body or my thinking that I can't run "that fast". 

This week I took those fears head on.  I started out  on June 23rd with a 4.4 miler which took me 57 minutes. Not my best effort but not terrible either.  The next day I ran 3 miles in 33 minutes.  After this run I felt pretty good but yearning for more satisfaction!  This is when I took the 25th off and on the 26th I ran an 8 miler which took me a dreaded 1 hours and 47 minutes.  Although, I felt great afterwords.  I accomplished my longest run of the season thus far.  As a more experienced and accomplished runner told me it doesn't matter how long it has taken you to run 8 miles because 8 miles is 8 miles.  I agree with her thinking.  this is also the time where I decieded to go for it and ratchet up my shorter runs

Next, on the 26th I tackled the lake (AKA the resovoir).  Man, I started out like a lighting bolt.  Now to put this in perspective a lighting bolt for me at this time is less than a ten minute mile.  In fact my first mile was 9:44!  I felt like a young sprinter!!!  My other splits were very good as well at:
Mile 2: 10:27
Mile 3:10:44
Mile 4:10:51.

What was really great about this run was that I was extremely consistent for the whole run.  The only time I fell off the pace at all was my last 8/10'ths a mile which is mostly uphill anyways!  Such a confidence booster to run such consistent miles at this early in my marathon training. 

Now as I have mentioned before my days off are scrambled about because of my work schedule.  I can't always have my long runs on Saturday's. In fact, my long runs will rarely be on the weekends! That being said I started my new week of training on Sunday.  It was Hot and Humid out and I decided that for my second full week of 'official' marathon training I would run a 3 miler.  Once again I felt fantastic.  In fact I can see how more experinced runners get addicted to this stuff.  I mean again I ran my fastest mile since High School!  My first mile was 9:09, my second was 10:17 and my last mile was 11:49.  Again the last 7/10th's of this particular track is uphill so I am not terrible disappointed with the last mile.  I would like to run it better, but that will come with time.

Today, I really wanted to run around the lake but my body is telling me to take a break.  Also, Hal Higdon who's marathon book I have read has really stressed rest days, so today is a rest day. I haven't decided about tomorrow yet.  We shall see how the day goes.  I am working OT during the day and back in at midnight and I have to sleep sometime.  Wednesday will probably be another double shift as well and Thursday is my short (or as my wife calls it my long) day.  Let's just see what this week brings.  Until my next blog you can follow me on twitter at 1st_marathon.
 
Nate

Training, consistency and blogging!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I am going to make an honest effort to blog some more.  After all many of us trying to reach a goal like to hold ourselves accountable through writing these blogs.  I am not going to do that.  I will be holding myself accountable on the street.  As a novice runner if I wait much longer to start training I will be WAY behind in the pack. 

My first Goal is to reach 25 miles in a week by the end of July.  I really need to consistently log miles.  I ran 4.34 miles yesterday and as soon as my other half gets home from the market I will log some more miles today.

I am loosely using Hal Higdon's novice 1 marathon training program.  Since I have already been training since December I feel that I want to try to get over some hurdles that have been keeping me back.  My IT band has been giving me problems on my long (10+) mile runs.   This is not an excuse to not go on long runs.. Anyone who has had pain in their leg to to an IT band issue knows what I am talking about.

Finally, I am asking you for feedback. Are my blogs well written, inspiring, dull, boring or whatever.  Please follow me and leave a message here on twitter .  As always KEEP TRAINING! 

In "Running Purgatory" for another few days.

If you have read my last blog you know that I had minor surgery on Tuesday. The Doctor has put me out of work and out of running for 7 - 10 days. I am gauging my progress and would really like to believe that I will be back to work on Monday and running by Tuesday. As of the writing of this blog I am still sore but much better than the previous days. It is difficult to occupy my time without work, OT, and running. I have played a lot of PS 3 with my 4 year old. Who by the way is getting increasingly good at the Cabela's hunting game! I have also discovered "Words With Friends" and that has helped me bide some time. It has been great to spend more time with the kids and wife but let me tell you I am ready to get back to work. By work I mean actual work and training 'work'. It is frustrating to have all this time on my hands and not be able to use it productively. I mean, I guess getting healthy is productive. I have had my fill with the News and ESPN and just want the Super Bowl between my New England Patriots and the New York Football Giants to come already! In fact, the quicker that gets here the quicker my ability to work gets here. I have made so much progress since December and am a little worried that I will take some big steps back but I guess we shall see. As for now I am in "running purgatory" at least until Tuesday. I will keep you all updated!

Good News, Bad News and Taxes!

 My second blog focuses on my inability to run for the next 8-11 days.  Unfortunately, I am going through minor surgery tomorrow and that is actually the good news. Also in the good news  category is spending more time with my two boys. I am really 'bummed' about not being able to train during this time because I should begin to be building more mileage by now. That is the bad news and it is just something that just has to be done! 

In my Profession as a Police Officer I have to be at 100% percent and ready to go from 0 to 100 in a moments note.  We have NO light duty clause and if I am chasing down a 'bad guy' I don't want to get hurt or not be there for my fellow Officer's.  That being said I normally hate to miss work and tend to go back as soon as possible.  In the past, I have gone back to work way to soon virtually ignoring what ever the good Doc has had to say. This time however I am training for a marathon and I would rather be out temporarily than out of training all together.  While I'm out I am going to be mentally preparing for the journey that lies ahead of me.  Will be watching some inspiration Mohammad Ali and Michael Jordan YouTube.com videos.

Also,  since I will be taking some time off of training and work I must occupy myself with something productive. Therefore, I will be gathering all my tax info so that my "tax guy" can process my documents and get me my refund!

OK, since this is a running blog I am going to also let you know what races that I am registered for thus far.  I will be running Boston's Run to Remember on May 27th.  If I feel good a week after I will run the Worcester, MA half marathon on June 3rd.  Worcester will be a mid-week or "game day" decision all depending on how I feel and how my body reacts to the Boston Half.  Last time I ran Boston I felt really well afterwards. I am hoping for a similar result! In between Boston and Worcester I am hoping to run a few 5/10k's. This will get me in better shape an hopefully continue my motivation.

When I become de-motivated I listen to this video on YouTube.com and I usually get a ton of motivation back.  As I write it is 3:45 pm on Monday and I have been up since 10:00pm on Sunday.  Watch the video and you will see why I am STILL AWAKE and STILL MOTIVATED! 

By my next entry I will have had my surgery and will keep you updated on the recovery! I suspect I will get some Play Station 3 time in with my oldest son. 

Please follow me on twitter at 1st_marathon !

Until next time,

Keep Training!

Who is this new blogger? Husband, Father, Police Officer and all around busy guy!

So your reading my blog. Thanks for coming.  My first blog will give you 'some' background on who I am both personally and professionally.  Professionally, I work as a Police Sergeant in a smallish Town outside of Boston, MA.. I have been a Police Officer since 2001 and my journey has taken me to many places both good, bad and disgusting!  I am not a "war story" blogger and for that most of my professional work life will be left out of my blogs.  The only exception is that it frequently interferes with my personal life and it will I will reference it there.  For example; I work an odd schedule to most of you out there.  I get weekends off once every six weeks.  So sometimes I will be referring to my "weekend" and it will not be Saturday/Sunday!  Second, I don't work 9-5.  I mean sometimes I do but that is usually overtime for me affectionately known as Oscar Tango (phonetically spelt out) or simply OT.  My 'normal' work days are two midnight to 8am and two 4pm to midnight shifts over a three and a half day span.  Sounds fun right?  It is definitely difficult and between my second midnight to 8am shift and my first 4pm to midnight shift I only have 8 hours off.  This is known as a "short" day. My wife calls it a long day for obvious reasons.

Personally, I have been married since May of 2005 to a supportive, loving and caring woman.  I have two great children Michael (4 years) and Benjamin (7 months).  In 2010 I ran a half marathon in Boston, Ma.  That was the healthiest I have ever felt but I also struggled during my 13.1. It took me 2:38 to finish. I struggled for many reasons. One of those was that I was in a serious job related motor vehicle crash in August of 2009 and it has affected me to this day.  Although I am much healthier now, I still feel the remnants from this crash.  I had to take time off of running to really focus on getting healthy.  In December of 2011 I have finally felt well enough to start training again.

Now that I am training I have set a goal of completing a marathon. I have always set BIG goals.  Why, well it's in my nature I guess.  I have decided to run a marathon. I know, wow, a freaking marathon.  It is going to be ALOT of training and I understand that.  On October 28th, 2012 I will be running in the 36th annual Marine Corps Marathon.  While doing this I am going to be running to support the Semper Fi Fund.  YOU can help support my mission by donating to this cause here. People have asked me why have I chose the Semper Fi Fund?  Those who know me are aware that I have never even served in the Military.  Here is my answer.  They (the military) go to foreign lands, to places I have never heard of to protect US from harm.  In protecting us, they are protecting my family. They often get hurt like Lt. Cameron Kerr.  Lt. Kerr lost his leg while serving in Afghanistan. His military buddies call it a "paper cut" cause it was "only one limb". Seriously, I can't fathom this.  Lt. Kerr has an amazing attitude despite his disability.  I am also running for Semper Fi Fund in the memory of 1st Lt. Scott Milley. 1st Lt. Milley was an Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan.  Finally, one of my best friends son's is currently serving on a CH53 Sea Stallion (helicopter) as a mechanic/gunner in Afghanistan.

Now you know the reason why I have chosen the Semper Fi Fund.  Please stay tuned for future updates on my training.  My goal in the marathon right now is to finish. In finishing I want to beat the bridge! Beating the bridge for those of you that don't know means getting to the 20th mile in 5 hours which is a 14 minute pace.  If I don't get there in 5 hours they (event organizer) bus you to near the finish line.  I will BEAT THE BRIDGE!

Till next time,

Nathan